Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier

The Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier is a class of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers built for the United States Navy to replace portions of the aging Nimitz-class carrier fleet. Named after former U . president Gerald R. Ford, the class is designed to provide upgraded weapons systems, improved energy efficiency, reduced operating costs, and reduced crew requirements. Key changes include the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS), Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG), and a redesigned flight deck. The lead ship, USS Gerald R. Ford, was commissioned in 2017 with the second ship of the class, USS John F. Kennedy, expected to be delivered in 2027.

Infobox

Name

Builders

Newport News Shipbuilding

Operators

United States Navy

Preceded by

Nimitz class Enterprise class

Cost

Program cost: US$37 billion (FY2018) Unit cost: US$12 billion (FY2018)

Built

2009–present

In service

2017–present

Planned

On order

Building

Completed

Active

Type

Aircraft carrier

Displacement

About 100,000 long tons (100,000 tonnes) (full load)

Length

1,092 ft (333 m) – 1,106 ft (337 m)

Beam

256 ft (78 m) (flight deck) 134 ft (41 m) (waterline)

Height

250 feet (76 m)

Draft

39 ft (12 m)

Decks

Installed power

Two Bechtel A1B PWR nuclear reactors, HEU 93 %

Propulsion

Four shafts

Speed

In excess of 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)

Range

Unlimited

Endurance

50-year service life

Complement

508 officers 3,789 enlisted

Crew

About 2,600

Sensors & processing systems

AN/SPY-3 Multi-Function Radar (MFR) X band active electronically scanned array (CVN-78) AN/SPY-4 Volume Search Radar (VSR) S band active electronically scanned array (CVN-78) AN/SPY-6(V)3 Enterprise Air Surveillance Radar (EASR) S band active electronically scanned array (CVN-79 and up) AN/SPQ-9B X band surface search radar (CVN-79 and up)

Electronic warfare & decoys

AN/SLQ-32(V)6 electronic warfare system AN/SLQ-25C Nixie towed torpedo decoys

Armament

Surface-to-air missiles: 2 × Mk 29 Guided Missile Launching Systems, 8 × RIM-162 Evolved SeaSparrow Missile (ESSM) each 2 × Mk 49 Guided Missile Launching Systems, 21 × RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missiles each Guns: 3 × Phalanx CIWS 4 × Mk 38 25 mm Machine Gun Systems 4 × M2 cal. (12 mm) machine guns

Aircraft carried

Aviation facilities

1,092 ft × 252 ft (333 m × 77 m) flight deck

Tables

· Ships in class

Gerald R. Ford

Ship

Gerald R. Ford

Hull no.

CVN-78

Laid down

14 November 2009

Launched

17 November 2013

Commissioned

22 July 2017

Status

Active, in service

Scheduled to replace

Enterprise (CVN-65)

John F. Kennedy

Ship

John F. Kennedy

Hull no.

CVN-79

Laid down

20 July 2015

Launched

29 October 2019

Commissioned

Expected in 2027

Status

Sea trials

Scheduled to replace

Nimitz (CVN-68)

Enterprise

Ship

Enterprise

Hull no.

CVN-80

Laid down

27 August 2022

Commissioned

Estimated in 2031

Status

Under construction

Scheduled to replace

Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69)

Doris Miller

Ship

Doris Miller

Hull no.

CVN-81

Commissioned

Estimated in 2034

Status

Under construction

Scheduled to replace

Carl Vinson (CVN-70)

William J. Clinton

Ship

William J. Clinton

Hull no.

CVN-82

Status

Planned

Scheduled to replace

Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71)

George W. Bush

Ship

George W. Bush

Hull no.

CVN-83

Status

Planned

TBA

Ship

TBA

Hull no.

CVN-84

Status

TBA

Ship

TBA

Hull no.

CVN-85

Status

TBA

Ship

TBA

Hull no.

CVN-86

Status

TBA

Ship

TBA

Hull no.

CVN-87

Status

TBA

Ship	Hull no.	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Status	Scheduled to replace	References
Gerald R. Ford	CVN-78	14 November 2009	17 November 2013	22 July 2017	Active, in service	Enterprise (CVN-65)
John F. Kennedy	CVN-79	20 July 2015	29 October 2019	Expected in 2027	Sea trials	Nimitz (CVN-68)
Enterprise	CVN-80	27 August 2022		Estimated in 2031	Under construction	Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69)
Doris Miller	CVN-81			Estimated in 2034	Under construction	Carl Vinson (CVN-70)
William J. Clinton	CVN-82				Planned	Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71)
George W. Bush	CVN-83				Planned
TBA	CVN-84				TBA
TBA	CVN-85				TBA
TBA	CVN-86				TBA
TBA	CVN-87				TBA